Garth Brooks Reclaims Title For Fastest BJC Sellout

It took 18 years, but Garth Brooks has finally reclaimed his title as fastest sellout in Bryce Jordan Center history.

Not only did the country artist take the record back, but he blew it out of the water.

Taylor Swift was the current record-holder with a 12-minute Bryce Jordan Center sellout, but on Friday, Brooks was able to fill the arena two times over in just three minutes.

The BJC has added four more Brooks shows since. The arena's director of sales and marketing, Bernie Punt, says that Brooks selling out arenas in just minutes is nothing new.

"He’s the real deal. In 1997, slated to perform two shows at the BJC on his national tour, fans lined up all over central PA to buy tickets -- this was before online ticket sales -- and suddenly, we were up to five sold-out nights," Punt says. "The fan response was phenomenal and Garth always remembered that. Garth told our audience each night that he promised he’d be back."

Punt says that Brooks is a "heck of a nice guy" and one of the building's favorite guests. Brooks was originally scheduled to play on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2 at the BJC. He will now play one show on Friday, April 24 and two on Saturday, April 25. The arena also added a second May 1 show.

"If we only had one show like Taylor Swift, then yes, Garth would have sold out within minutes, but Mr. Brooks went on-sale with two shows and was able to add two more shows within 10 minutes after we went on sale because of one reason – to have enough inventory available on all the shows for the fans and not the ticket scalpers," Punt says.

Brooks retired from both recording and performing from 2001 and 2009. He has spent the past years playing in Las Vegas for a residency at the Encore Hotel, but this BJC trip is part of his official comeback world tour.

There are still tickets available to see Brooks when he comes to town, especially for both 10:30 p.m. Saturday shows. You can purchase your Garth Brooks ticket online or over the phone by calling 1-800-745-3000.

"Do not purchase tickets other than on Ticketmaster’s website," Punt says. "If you see tickets listed more than $74.98 on any other website, then they are scalpers and the tickets could even be counterfeit."

Zach Berger is the managing editor of StateCollege.com. He graduated from Penn State University in 2014 with a degree in print journalism. Zach enjoys writing about a variety of topics ranging from football to government, music, and everything in between.
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